KOTA KINABALU: The Environment Protection Department (EPD) has issued a stop work order and penalised the developer or landowner involved in the illegal clearing / hill cutting activities at Kg Togudon, Penampang with a RM10,000 compound.
EPD director Datuk Yabi Yangkat said in a press statement yesterday that at the same time, the Lands and Surveys Department had also confiscated all the materials used by the developer or contractor to carry out the activities.
He said the developer / land owner had failed to submit an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report prior to starting the earth work / hill cutting activities that exceeded 40,000 cubic meters, to his department.
He said his approval was also necessary prior to the start of such works as stipulated under the 2002 Environment Protection Enactment.
He added that his officers had conducted ground / site checks and investigation and found that the earthworks and hill cutting activities that were carried out at Kg Togudon, Penampang, had resulted in the serious mud pollution in the Moyog River, particularly during rainfall, as no precautionary / control steps had been taken to avoid incidences such as land erosion and river sedimentation by those involved.
In his statement, he reminded that under the Environment Protection Order (Fixed Activities)(Examination on Impacts to the Environment) 2005, any earthworks that exceeded 40,000 cubic meters would require the submission of an EIA report to the EPD and that an approval by the EPD director must be acquired prior to the start of any activities.
He hoped that with the actions taken, other developers and contractors will not flout the regulations set and reminded that the regulations adherence was important to avoid any untoward environment problems such as flood, mud flood, landslides, water pollution and others issues.